Jewelry Box

ABSTRACT

A jewelry box removably coupled to a handset for recording the image of a person opening the jewelry box or a person to whom the open jewelry box is presented.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a jewelry box, such as a ring box,which is removably coupled to a handset that is capable of recordingaudio, photographs and/or videos.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Jewelry boxes, such as ring boxes or bracelet boxes, are knownthroughout the world and are used for giving gifts of jewelry. One ofthe most common uses of a jewelry box is for a marriage proposal,wherein a first person presents an opened ring box containing a ring toa second person. During the marriage proposal, but in all instancesinvolving the giving a jewelry box, it is desirable to record thereaction of the person to whom the ring box is presented.

As described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,789,225, the prior art discloses ajewelry box with a built in recording device. However, the jewelry boxof the prior art has several drawbacks. First, a jewelry box isgenerally only given or presented to a recipient a single time. Thus, ajewelry box with a built-in recording device is expensive and wastefulfor an item having a single one-time use. Moreover, and especially inthe case of a marriage proposal, the jewelry box of the prior art has nomeans, such as a viewfinder or digital display, for the person giving orpresenting the jewelry box to ensure that the recipient of the jewelrybox is actually in frame of the camera. This is particularly detrimentalin the case of a marriage proposal where the reaction of the personbeing presented with the ring box cannot be reproduced if it is notcaptured by the recording device on the first attempt.

Accordingly, there is a need for a jewelry box capable of recording theimage of the person opening the box, or the person to whom the openjewelry box is presented, which is economical and provides improvedcontrol over the recording process to the person giving or presentingthe jewelry box.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus whichis capable of capturing the image of a person opening a jewelry box or aperson to whom an open jewelry box is presented.

It is an additional object of the present invention to provide anapparatus employing a jewelry box which can be removably coupled to ahandset capable of recording audio, photographs and/or video.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide an apparatusemploying a jewelry box capable of recording the image of a personopening the jewelry box, or a person to whom the open jewelry box ispresented, which does not employ built-in hardware for recording audio,photographs and/or video such as a display screen, microphone, cameraand related circuitry.

Additional objectives, advantages and novel features of the inventionwill be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in partwill become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of thefollowing, or may be learned by practice of the invention.

The present invention is directed generally to an apparatus having ajewelry box and a handset capable of recording audio, photographs and/orvideo. The jewelry box is adapted to allow for a handset to be removablycoupled to the jewelry box. Thus, in use, the handset will be coupled tothe jewelry box when it is desired to record the reaction of a personopening the jewelry box or a person to whom the open jewelry box ispresented, and thereafter, the handset can be detached from the jewelrybox. The handset is removably coupled to the jewelry box such that whenthe jewelry box is in an opened position, the audio, photograph and/orvideo recording device of the handset will be in a position capable ofrecording the audio and/or image of a person opening the jewelry box ora person to whom the open jewelry box is presented.

The present invention is also directed generally to a jewelry box whichis adapted to be removably coupled to a handset capable of recordingaudio, photographs and/or video.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a jewelry box.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a jewelry box of thepresent invention with rails and a clamp.

FIG. 2 a is a perspective view of an embodiment of an apparatus of thepresent invention having a handset removably coupled to a jewelry boxwith rails and a clamp.

FIG. 2 b is a perspective view of an embodiment of an apparatus of thepresent invention having a handset removably coupled to a jewelry boxwith rails and a clamp.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a jewelry box of thepresent invention with clips.

FIG. 3 a is a perspective view of an embodiment of an apparatus of thepresent invention having a handset removably coupled to a jewelry boxwith clips.

FIG. 3 b is a perspective view of an embodiment of an apparatus of thepresent invention having a handset removably coupled to a jewelry boxwith clips.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a jewelry box of thepresent invention with a coupling system.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a jewelry box of thepresent invention with a strap.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As shown in FIG. 1, a jewelry box 10 has a base 11 and a lid 12connected by a hinge 13. The lid 12 has an outer side 14 and an innerside 15. The hinge 13 allows the lid 12 to be moved between an openedand closed position. In an embodiment of the present invention, a sideof the lid 12, preferably the outer side 14, is adapted to allow for ahandset 23 to be removably coupled to the lid 12. However, it is alsocontemplated by the present invention that the handset 23 can be coupledto the base 11 and one or more mirrors can be employed to give arecording device of the handset a line of sight to the person openingthe jewelry box 10 or the person to whom the open jewelry box 10 ispresented.

The figures of the present application depict various methods toremovably couple a handset 23 to the lid 12, however, it should beunderstood that other methods may also be employed to couple the handset23 to the lid 12, which would be apparent to, and well within theabilities of, a person of ordinary skill in the art.

In an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 2, 2 a and2 b, the lid 12 of the jewelry box 10 is adapted to be removably coupledwith a handset 23 using rails 17. The rails 17 preferably run along theouter side 14 of the lid 12 along two non-adjacent edges of the lid 12,however, it is also contemplated by the present invention that the rails14 may run along the inner side 15 of the lid 12 along two non-adjacentedges. In another embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIGS.3, 3 a and 3 b, the lid 12 of the jewelry box 10 is adapted to beremovably coupled with a handset 23 using clips 19. The clips 19preferably run along the outer side 14 of the lid 12 along twonon-adjacent edges of the lid 12, however, it is also contemplated bythe present invention that the clips 19 may run along the inner side 15of the lid 12 along two non-adjacent edges.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the rails 17 or clips 19 canbe spaced apart a specific and fixed distance to accommodate aparticular handset. In such an embodiment, the distance between therails 17 or clips 19 should be approximately equal to, or slightlylarger than, a dimension of a particular handset. Common dimensions forhandsets are about 1.5 inches, about 2.2 inches, about 2.31 inches,about 2.75 inches, about 2.875 inches, about 4.5 inches, about 4.87inches, about 5.375 inches and about 5.5 inches. Thus, the rails 17 orclips 19 should be spaced apart from about 1.5 inches to about 5.5inches, preferably, about 2 inches to about 3 inches, most preferablyabout 2.2 inches to about 2.875 inches. The rails 17 or clips 19 mayoptionally contain slots or cut-outs so that any buttons on the sides ofthe handset can be pressed while the handset is coupled to the jewelrybox.

Alternatively, rails 17 or clips 19 can be used for a variety ofhandsets of varied dimensions by employing one or more clamps 18 whichare attached to one or more of the rails 17 or clips 19 (the clips 19are not depicted in the figures with clamps 18, however, it should beunderstood that clamps 18 may also be employed with clips 19). In thisembodiment, the rails 17 or clips 19 should be spaced apart by any ofthe common dimensions for handsets described above, preferably, about 2inches to about 3 inches, most preferably about 3 inches. Each clamp 18employed should extend from the rail 17 (or clip 19) to which it isattached on an axis perpendicular to, and towards, the other rail 17 (orclip 19). The clamps 18 can be made to extend by screws, springs,ratchets and the like. The handset 23 is thus secured by beingcompressed between two clamps 18 or between one clamp 18 and one rail 17(or clip 19). Therefore, it is desirable for the clamps 18 to be madefrom, or contain, a gripping material such as rubber, polyurethane,silicone and the like.

Additionally, as an alternative to clamps 18, one or more rails 17 orclips 19 can be made to be slidable on an axis perpendicular to theother rail 17 or clip 19 or perpendicular to itself. In general, thiswill be an axis that is parallel with the hinge 13. The rails 17 orclips 19 can be made slidable by employing a groove, slot or track whichallows the rail 17 or clip 19 to be slid back and forth on an axisperpendicular to the other rail 17 or clip 19. As a further alternativeto clamps 18, one or more rails 17 or clips 19 can be removably coupledto the lid 12 using a coupling system selected from hook and pilefasteners, magnets, snaps, ball and socket fasteners, screws, bucklefasteners, clasps and the like, with one member of the coupling systembeing on the rail 17 or clip 19 and one or more of the other member ofthe coupling system being on the lid 12 at relevant intervals, such asthe spacing distance between the rails 17 and clips 19 described above.Thus, to accommodate a wider handset 23, the rails 17 or clips 19 can beremovably coupled to the lateral edges of the lid 12, whereas if anarrower handset 23 is being employed, the rails 17 or clips 19 can beremovably coupled closer to the lateral center of the lid 12. It is alsoenvisioned that a combination of rails 17 and clips 19 can be employedin the present invention.

As seen in FIG. 2 b, the handset 23 is coupled to the jewelry box 10such that the audio, photograph and/or video recording device 24 of thehandset 23 is positioned beyond an edge of the lid 12 such that when thelid 12 is opened, the recording device 24 has a mostly unobstructed viewor line of sight to a person opening the jewelry box 10 or a person towhom the open jewelry box 10 is presented. It is preferred that therecording device 24 is positioned beyond the edge of the lid 12 oppositethe hinge 13. As seen in FIG. 3, an aperture 16 is used to allow therecording device 24 to have a mostly unobstructed view or line of sighta person opening the jewelry box 10 or a person to whom the open jewelrybox 10 is presented. The aperture 16 may be a void space or it maycontain a transparent material such as glass, acrylic or plastic. Thewidth of the aperture 16 is from about 0.25 inches up to about the widthof the lid 12 preferably between about 1 inch to about 2 inches, mostpreferably about 2 inches. The height of the aperture 16 is from about0.25 inches up to about the height of the lid 12 preferably betweenabout 0.5 inch to about 1 inch, most preferably about 0.5 inches.

In another embodiment of the present invention, as seen in FIG. 4, acoupling system is employed wherein the lid 12 has a first member 20that removably couples with a second member 21, the second member 21additionally having means for removably attaching a handset such asclips, rails, clamps, straps or a pocket. As depicted in FIG. 4, thesecond member 21 employs clips 19 as the means for removably attaching ahandset. The coupling system can be any method for removably couplingtwo items known in the art such as hook and pile fasteners, magnets,snaps, ball and socket fasteners, screws, buckle fasteners, clasps andthe like. As depicted in FIG. 4, the coupling system is buckle fastenerswith the female members of the buckle fasteners being the first member20 on the lid 12 and the male members of the buckle fasteners beingpresent on the second member 21. It is also contemplated that thecoupling system can employ a second member 21 without the need for afirst member whereby the second member 21 is strapped, clipped orclamped to the lid 12.

In an additional embodiment of the present invention, as seen in FIG. 5,the handset can be coupled to the lid 12 using one or more straps 22.The one or more straps 22 extend between two non-adjacent edges of thelid 12. It is preferred that the one or more straps 22 are on the outerside 14 of the lid 12, but the present invention also contemplatesplacing the one or more straps 22 on the inner side 15 of the lid 12. Itis desirable for the straps 22 to be made from, or contain, a grippingmaterial such as rubber, polyurethane, silicone and the like.

As discussed above, various embodiments of the present invention employan aperture or position the handset beyond an edge of the lid in orderto provide the recording device of the handset with a mostlyunobstructed view or line of sight to a person opening the jewelry boxor a person to whom the open jewelry box is presented. However, itshould be understood that the aperture can be substituted or combinedwith positioning the handset beyond an edge of the lid, and thus, theembodiments of the invention described above are not limited to use onlywith an aperture/positioning the handset beyond an edge of the lid. Inaddition, it should be understood that if the handset is coupled to theinner side of the lid the handset need not be placed beyond an edge ofthe lid nor is an aperture necessary.

The jewelry box 10 of the present invention may be made of any rigidmaterial such as wood, plastic, cardboard or metal. In a preferredembodiment the jewelry box 10 is made of plastic. The jewelry box 10 canbe a ring box, bracelet box, earring box, watch box, necklace box or anybox, wherein it is desirable to capture by audio, photograph and/orvideo, the reaction of a person opening the box or the person to whomthe open box is presented. In a preferred embodiment, the jewelry box 10is a ring box.

The handset 23 of the present invention is any device capable ofcapturing audio, photographs and/or video which can be held in the handof a person. Suitable handsets for use in the present invention includedigital cameras, cell phones, smartphones, smartwatches and tablets. Ina preferred embodiment, the handset is a smartphone having storage, acamera, microphone, a display capable of displaying images captured bythe camera and optionally a camera flash or light.

In an additional embodiment of the present invention, the handset iscoupled to the jewelry box in a manner such that the flash or light ofthe handset can illuminate the inside portion of the jewelry box, andparticularly, can illuminate the inner side of the base when the jewelrybox is opened. By doing so, the jewelry in the jewelry box will beilluminated, which is visually pleasing, especially when the jewelrycontains diamonds. In this embodiment the handset can be coupled to thejewelry box in any of the manners described above. In this embodiment,it is preferred that the lid of the jewelry box have an aperture and thehandset is coupled to the jewelry box such that the flash or light ofthe handset is aligned with the aperture so that when the jewelry box isopened, the flash or light of the handset has a mostly unobstructed viewor line of sight to the inside portion of the jewelry box. In certainembodiments, this may require that a small mirror be placed on or abovethe aperture in a position near the flash or light in order toreflect/redirect the flash or light toward the inside portion of thejewelry box.

In a further embodiment of the present invention, a handset having adisplay can be coupled to the lid of the jewelry box such that thedisplay of the handset is facing toward a person opening the jewelry boxor the person to whom an open jewelry box is presented, i.e., thedisplay of the handset is facing the same direction as the inner surfaceof the lid. In this embodiment the handset can be coupled to the jewelrybox in any of the manners described above. It is preferred in thisembodiment that the lid has an aperture which is void space or filled bya transparent material, and the display of the handset is aligned withthe aperture so that when the jewelry box is opened, the display of thehandset has a mostly unobstructed view or line of sight to the personopening the jewelry box or the person to whom the open jewelry box ispresented. In this embodiment, the aperture is preferably approximatelythe dimensions of the display of the handset. Common dimensions ofhandset displays are between about 4 inches and about 6 inchesdiagonally, about 3.5 inches diagonally, about 4 inches diagonally,about 4.8 inches diagonally and about 5 inches diagonally. The handsetcan be preloaded with audio, image(s), video(s) or graphics which becomeaudible and/or visible on the display and/or speakers of the handset toa person opening the jewelry box or a person to whom the open jewelrybox is presented. Thus, in this embodiment, rather than recording animage of the person opening the jewelry box or the person to whom theopen jewelry box is presented, the person opening the jewelry box or theperson to whom the open jewelry box is presented will see an image,video or other graphic on the display of the handset when the jewelrybox is opened by them or presented to them.

It is also contemplated that the handset of the present invention may beloaded with software to control the functions of the handset,particularly the audio, photograph and/or video functions of thehandset. Most modern handsets are equipped with sensors to detectacceleration and light. Thus the software can monitor the handset'ssensors for acceleration indicative of the opening motion of the jewelrybox and/or light to detect when the jewelry box is being opened andthereafter trigger the handset's audio, photograph, flash/lightingand/or video recording or playback device or otherwise launch a softwareapplication on the handset which can perform any number of thesefunctions.

The present invention also encompasses a method of recording the imageof a person opening a jewelry box or a person to whom an open jewelrybox is presented by employing an apparatus comprising a jewelry box anda handset removably coupled to the jewelry box and activating the photoor video recording device of the handset prior to, or contemporaneouslywith, the opening of the jewelry box.

Variations, modifications and alterations to the above detaileddescription will be apparent to those skilled in the art. All suchvariations, modifications and/or alternatives are intended to fallwithin the scope of the present invention, limited only by the claims.All cited patents and publications are hereby incorporated by reference.

1. An apparatus comprising a jewelry box having a base and a lid with aninner side and an outer side, and a handset capable of recording one ormore of audio, photographs and video, wherein the handset is removablycoupled to the jewelry box.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein thehandset is removably coupled to the jewelry box by rails, clips, one ormore straps, a pocket or a coupling system.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2wherein the rails, clips, one or more straps, or pocket is affixed to aside of the lid of the jewelry box.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3 whereinthe side of the lid of the jewelry box is the outer side.
 5. Theapparatus of claim 4 wherein the rails, clips or one or more straps areaffixed to non-adjacent edges of the lid.
 6. The apparatus of claim 2wherein the rails or clips are removably coupled to the jewelry box. 7.The apparatus of claim 3 wherein at least one rail or at least one clipis slidable on an axis perpendicular to itself.
 8. The apparatus ofclaim 2 wherein the handset is removably coupled to the jewelry box byrails or clips and wherein the apparatus further comprises one or moreclamps.
 9. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the coupling systemcomprises a first member and a second member and wherein the lid of thejewelry box comprises the first member of the coupling system and thesecond member of the coupling system has means for removably attaching ahandset.
 10. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the jewelry box has anaperture in the lid.
 11. A jewelry box having a base and a lid with aninner side and an outer side wherein the jewelry box comprises rails,clips, one or more straps, a pocket or a coupling system.
 12. Thejewelry box of claim 11 wherein the rails, clips, one or more straps, orpocket is affixed to a side of the lid of the jewelry box.
 13. Thejewelry box of claim 12 wherein the side of the lid of the jewelry boxis the outer side.
 14. The jewelry box of claim 13 wherein the rails,clips or one or more straps are affixed to non-adjacent edges of thelid.
 15. The jewelry box of claim 11 wherein the rails or clips areremovably coupled to the jewelry box.
 16. The jewelry box of claim 11wherein at least one rail or at least one clip is slidable on an axisperpendicular to itself.
 17. The jewelry box of claim 11 wherein thejewelry box comprises rails or clips and further comprises one or moreclamps.
 18. The jewelry box of claim 11 wherein the jewelry box has anaperture in the lid.
 19. The jewelry box of claim 11 wherein thecoupling system comprises a first member and a second member and whereinthe lid of the jewelry box comprises the first member of the couplingsystem and the second member of the coupling system has means forremovably attaching a handset.